Abstract

The rapid expansion of telecommunications infrastructure in recent years has done much to bridge the digital divide. However, cost remains the principal obstacle to connectivity in Africa. The concept of "last mile" as applied to telecommunications infrastructure is traditionally defined as that which is required to connect a person or institution to the local telephone company, a problem traditionally solved by the telephone company. The concept of "first mile" mentioned in the title represents a more bottom-up analysis of the problem: it refers to new and inexpensive technologies (wireless, open source telephony applications) that are potential solutions to the problem. "First inch," on the other hand, addresses the fact that it is often not enough to place technology in the hands of the user. Rather, technology must be adapted to the local environment by taking into account such factors as language, literacy, physical access, etc. This grant will support 10 innovative pilot projects in rural and periurban areas in Southern Africa. Researchers will carry out a comparative analysis of the various technologies involved and map behavioral changes related to the introduction of these technologies.

Post-Project Summary

The project supported a total of 10 components in Angola, Mozambique and South Africa. The components explored a range of solutions to challenges in the area of health (for example, using mesh networks to connect health visitors to an AIDS clinic in South Africa); post-war reconstruction (using VSAT/WiFi to locate and repatriate displaced people in Angola); education (WiFi connectivity for distance learning in Mozambique); accessing information (sharing an Internet connection locally using wireless technology, Mozambique); and long-distance communication (voice publishing in South Africa and voice messaging in Mozambique). Project outputs listed in the evaluation report (see bibliography) include the following publications: Comparative study of "First Mile" and "First Inch" information and communication technologies [ICT] in different low density contexts by Uys du Buisson; Telemedicine challenges in Africa by C. Morris; Tele-health application demonstrated over wireless network in Tsilitwa and Sulenkama, Eastern Cape, published by CSIR (www.fmfi.org.za); Delivering behavioural telehealth via the Internet e-health by M. Maheu (http://telehealth.net/articles/deliver.htm); and the Mozambique policy brief.

According to the external reviewer, both project teams and their partners appreciated the opportunity to showcase new approaches to low-cost, last-mile connectivity, which is particularly relevant in the countries involved. Some noted that the project was qualitatively different from other research in that it tailored available technologies to very specific contexts, and led to the formation of partnerships that could be further developed in future (i.e. likely to continue after the project ended). The establishment of First Mile technologies (connectivity) took precedence over First Inch (user interface) technologies, however. In part as a result of this - and the fact that ICT personnel were mostly male - the issue of gender seems to have been addressed only superficially. Retaining skilled personnel was a major challenge, since local people once trained tended to find employment in nearby towns. The project was also hampered by language barriers. And, advocacy efforts could have been enhanced by involving government departments in the project from the outset. It was suggested that in future, proponents might look to public-private partnerships to scale up their projects. Some of these issues were pursued in a subsequent project, Wireless Africa (104477).

Recipient Institution(s)